MIDNIGHTROSE: A Reading Series of Poetry and Prose features Mr. Kenneth Carroll, Ms. Elizabeth Bruce and Ms.Sasa Aakil
“MidnightRose serves as a vibrant platform that highlights the diverse voices of multigenerational and multicultural writers from the Washington Metropolitan Region and beyond. This initiative is brought to life by Esther Productions Inc., in collaboration with The Institute for African American Writing and The Black Student Fund. The series aims to celebrate the literary talents within the community, showcasing a variety of poetic and prose works that reflect the rich tapestry of experiences and perspectives that define the region.
Attendees of MidnightRose can expect to engage with a dynamic array of award-winning poets and authors, each bringing their unique narratives and artistic expressions to the forefront. The event not only serves as a performance space but also as a gathering that fosters dialogue and connection among writers and audiences alike. By immersing oneself in the powerful words and stories shared during the series, participants are invited to explore themes of identity, culture, and resilience, all of which resonate deeply within the community.
The essence of MidnightRose lies in its ability to inspire and empower individuals through the art of storytelling. As the series unfolds, it creates an atmosphere where creativity flourishes, and the voices of underrepresented writers are amplified. This initiative not only enriches the cultural landscape of the Washington Metropolitan Region but also encourages a deeper appreciation for the literary arts, inviting everyone to partake in the transformative power of poetry and prose.”
For those interested in learning more about this literary event, please feel free to reach out via email at midnightrosereadingseries@gmail.com.
Mr. Kenneth Carroll is a native Washingtonian whose poetry and prose has appeared in Icarus, In Search of Color Everywhere, Bum Rush The Page, Potomac Review, Worcester Review, Obsidian, the Washington Post, Words & Images Journal, Indiana Review, American Poetry: The Next Generation, Beyond the Frontier, Gargoyle, Spirit & Flame, and Penguin Academics Anthology of African American Poetry. His short stories appear in Stress City, (Paycock Press), Children of the Dream, (Simon & Schuster Pocketbooks), Gargoyle Magazine #44, Words and Images Journal of Southern Maine, Full Moon Over K Street, Shooting Star Magazine, The Black Body (7 Stories Press), and the anthology “It’s All Love” Double Day, edited by Marita Golden. He is the 2021 winner of the Blood Orange Review for short fiction.
His book of poetry is entitled So What: for the White Dude Who Said This Ain’t Poetry, Bunny & The Crocodile Press. He has had three of his plays produced, The Mask, Walking to Be Free, and Make My Funk The P-Funk, which Ishmael Reed published in Konch. He is former director of DC WritersCorps and the African American Writers Guild and taught at Duke Ellington School for the Arts, Washington Writers Center and Montgomery County Community College. He is a former Pushcart Prize nominee for poetry and was a writer for BET’s Story Porch program featuring Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. He was featured in the Smithsonian Museum of African American Culture exhibit “All the Stories Are True.” He is the proud father of a daughter and two sons.
Ms. Elizabeth Bruce’s Universally Adored & Other One Dollar Stories was recently released by Vine Leaves Press. Her debut novel, And Silent Left the Place, won Washington Writers’ Publishing House’s Fiction Prize, with ForeWord Magazine and Texas Institute of Letters’ distinctions. She’has published stories in journals and anthologies in the USA and 13 countries.
A veteran teaching artist and arts producer with CentroNÃa and other schools, her educational book, Theatrical Journey Playbook: Introducing Science to Early Learners through Guided Pretend Play, won or placed in four indie contests. A DC-based native Texan, Elizabeth has received numerous fellowships from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, HumanitiesDC, and the McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation, and studied with Richard Bausch, the late Lee K. Abbott, Janet Peery, John McNally, and Liam Callanan. A Co-Founder of DC’s Sanctuary Theatre, Elizabeth co-hosts Creativists in Dialogue: A Podcast Embracing the Creative Life and its “Theatre in Community” and “Innovators, Artists & Solutions” series.
Ms. Sasa Aakil is a Multimedia Artist, Writer living and working in Rockville, Maryland. She is a potter, painter, poet, print maker, and bassist and served as the 2021 Montgomery County Youth Poet Laureate. Sasa has been featured in the Bethesda Magazine for her work as Youth Poet Laureate. She has also been featured in the Washington Post, as well as on WTOP for her work on the A Man Was Lynched Yesterday Project in 2020. She has shown sculptural and two-dimensional work at the American Poetry Museum and Black Rock Art Center. Sasa is the founder of If All the Trees Were Pens Open Mic and recently published her first chapbook, the culmination of all my despair and the music that saves me. She received a Bachelors of Fine Arts from Howard University in 2024.